IC reporting in the Australian Red Cross blood service

Purpose – The paper aims to study and compare the Australian Red Cross Blood Service (ARCBS) annual (AR) and intellectual capital reports (ICR) with an earlier study. The paper seeks to analyse the reporting practices of intellectual capital (IC) within this organisation. Design/methodology/approach – The case study organisation is an Australian not‐for‐profit (NFP) organisation and the study took place over three years. A content analysis of ARCBS AR and ICR between 2002 and 2005 was conducted. Several interviews were conducted with a number of key ARBCS staff during 2006 to identify why and how they reported IC information. Findings – The findings indicate a greater focus on internal and external capital with less focus on human capital. The frequency with which certain internal, external and human capital elements occur in ARCBS reports can be explained by macro, meso and micro factors which affect the organisation and influence the information it provides to its stakeholders. It was found that the AR addressed the concerns of multiple stakeholder groups, whereas the ICR are more targeted towards specific audiences. Originality/value – This paper examines ICR and IC frameworks in the context of the NFP sector. Few prior studies consider this sector.